Why a Healthy and Low Fat Diet is Important

Everyone knows that weight loss is basically getting the correct “calories in, calories out” formula. A low calorie diet can be the simplest form of dieting, nothing more than reducing the number of calories you consume. Although it is possible to lose weight that way, there can be a problem in just cutting your food intake down. A diet based on simply eating smaller amounts of the same highly processed, calorie-rich foods typically results in hunger, poor nutrition, and only temporary weight loss. Eating tiny portions of concentrated, processed calories does not satisfy our hunger. As a result, we tend to go off our diets, and regain the weight we lost. When this happens over and over again, it is not only hard on our motivation, but it is also hard on our health in the long run. By eating foods that are higher in nutrients and fiber and lower in calories, we become satisfied eating fewer calories. We can lose weight even though we are eating a greater volume of food. We need to pay attention to calories, but also look at the amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates you put in your body. You also need enough fiber in your diet, and not too much sodium. Heavily processed foods containing a lot of sugar and other ingredients of little nutritional value are said to contain “empty calories.” Because they have little nutritional value, and little if any fiber, they don’t keep your metabolism on an even keel like healthy foods do. Thus 500 calories of junk food does not have the same effect on weight loss as 500 calories of healthy food. That is why it is so important in our efforts to lose weight, tone up and get healthy, not only to cut down on the calories we take in, but take a close look at the kinds of food we are eating – hence the healthy and low calorie diet!